right now, i want to start with the story of the week. the tax man cometh. the main thing between president obama and congress over the fiscal curb is the unraveling of the con sen sense. glover nor quis managed to get every single republican running for office from school boards up to president, signing a pledge that reads, i pledge to taxpayers to one, oppose any and all efforts to increase the income tax rates for individuals and or businesses and two, oppose any net reduction or elimination of reductions in credits unless matched dollar for dollar. his pledge has been useful to the republican party for a number of reasons. first, it led the republican party to push tax policies that move hundreds of billions of dollars into the bank accounts of wealthy people. it's also given the central right a single, simple policy objective to pursue, no matter what. a kind of north star for modern conservatism. now, members of congress seem to be losing their way. >> there's a lot that has been said about this pledge. i will tell you, when i go to the constituent tha